* How about Brian Wilson 2008 All-Star?
* If the Giants aren’t committing to youth, they would have traded off all their young guys for old guys. The young players they have got rid of and who have done well is few. The reason the hitters don’t develop is because they didn’t have enough talent, not lack of opportunities. The Giants gave Niekro months and Ellison months to keep the job and they blew it. Both Linden and Ortmeier didn’t hit their weight, if a vet hit that poorly for a month, they would have been benched too.

Heck, the whole pitching staff is very young, besides Johnson and maybe Yabu, Zito is the next oldest at 31, Taschner too, and the rest are all 27 and mostly younger.

* I like Ishikawa and I root for him because he is an Asian-American like me, but frankly he sucked for a couple of years before his great 2008 season. So yeah, the Giants should be hesitant to give him full rein of 1B, but I think the Giants will give him a chance to face plenty of LHP in spring training and if he can jump that hurdle, I would expect them to give him 1B unhindered, assuming no 1B/3B vet is signed between now and opening day.

* If the Giants really wanted Crede, I think he would be signed already. I think if he agreed to a $1-2M contract, they might listen, but that’s cheap and I wouldn’t blame them for doing that.

Fans will put up with losing only so long, playing young players exclusively (which, BTW, is what I advocated for after the season ended) would make it that much harder to win, so I don’t blame them for choosing that route, even though I would prefer to see Schierholtz in RF, Ishikawa at 1B, Frandsen at 2B, Burriss at SS, and Sandoval at 3B. It is still a business and they need to keep that segment of the fans happy enough to continue to buy tickets.

If Pablo makes the team and can stay on the team, he’ll he the youngest Position Player on the team from now til 2015. And I’m being optimistic that Winn is gone by then and that Bengie’s replace WON’T be Bengie.

I know your post is meant as sarcasm but the Giants have offer Thompson jobs in the past. Back then he turned them down for jobs closer to his home. I imagine almost any time he wants to come back the Giants will find him spot.

]]>By: bradley emdenhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2009/01/29/giants-add-juan-uribe-to-infield-mix/#comment-12196
bradley emdenSun, 01 Feb 2009 02:34:03 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=721#comment-12196There was a lot more crying at JFK’s funeral. I’ve seen the tapes. This is like a Jose Castillo move. A wasted signing. I’d rather have the kids or Aurillia than this guy. Although there is hope that it is just a minor league contract. Maybe at this stage of the game he is a better fielder than Aurillia, but not necessarily a better hitter. Take the 8 plus mil on Renteria and the almost 4 mil a piece on Howry and Affeltd, they could have almost signed Manny.
]]>By: Guruhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2009/01/29/giants-add-juan-uribe-to-infield-mix/#comment-12195
GuruSat, 31 Jan 2009 05:29:47 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=721#comment-12195“The Giant way.” Will Clark? Name one player that got less out his talent than Will Clark? Should be a Hall of Fame player. Not a sniff. Never worked out one day in his life. The Giant way? I hope not.
]]>By: CrazyCrabhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2009/01/29/giants-add-juan-uribe-to-infield-mix/#comment-12194
CrazyCrabSat, 31 Jan 2009 01:16:58 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=721#comment-12194BOOOO—reeeee—baaaay!!!!!
]]>By: Lance Newberryhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2009/01/29/giants-add-juan-uribe-to-infield-mix/#comment-12186
Lance NewberrySat, 31 Jan 2009 01:13:38 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=721#comment-12186It’s NOT fine to give Crede any contract, even if he’s healthy, because that will lead to what was stated in the article…

Sandoval swiching back and forth between 3rd, 1st and probably catcher & even the outfield, and making Ishikawa platoon right at the beginning of a promising career.

That is classic short-term thinking and has been the Giants Way for years now, and is exactly why the team hasn’t developed an excellent player in decades.

Sandoval has star potential, but he is a child and the team will already be putting ALLOT of pressure on him right out of the gate, and moving him around defensively is a great way to set him up to fail, of which this team has MANY examples.

Travis Ishikawa has nothing more to prove at the minor league level but he needs to KNOW that he is an every day player and that he won’t get benched even if he doesn’t hit for a month or even two. Young players need time & confidence to grow and the Giants never want to give those guys that time because they’re WAY too concerned about immediate ticket sales then they are about developing a guy who could be a great player LATER. How will Ishikawa EVER learn to hit lefty’s if he never gets to face them, or develop any major league confidence if he knows he’ll get benched if he goes 0 – 4 three games in a row?

They need to let that kid play EVERY DAY for months to really see what they have in him; he’s got all the tools but will they let him learn to use them? Great teams do, and when those guys become all-stars no one remembers the tough times. When’s the last time a home grown Giant made the all-star team, and don’t say Lincecum, because he came ready-made, and they’re most likey going to burn him up too.

If Crede’s heathly, and that’s a BIG if, he will help them now, but Sandoval, Ishikawa, Jonathan Sanchez and others are guys the team could win with for YEARS if they groom them properly, which means biting the bullet now, but there is zero indication at this early stage that they’ve changed and care about the future; they want to SELL TICKETS TODAY, and that mentality has sunk them into the depths they have been in for the past 6, and really more than 10 years; relying solely on free agents, older veterans and smoke & mirrors. Talking about moving Sanchez to the bullpen again is madness, and is the Giants Way.

How has that been working?

]]>By: kdiggitysfhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/giants/2009/01/29/giants-add-juan-uribe-to-infield-mix/#comment-12185
kdiggitysfSat, 31 Jan 2009 00:35:52 +0000http://blogs.mercurynews.com/extrabaggs/?p=721#comment-12185Oooo…reee…bayyy!!! Oooo…reee…bayyy!!! Oooo…reee…bayyy!!!
That’s why we signed him. Jose Uribe back from the dead(RIP). They think the fans will get nostalgic by bringing him and Will the Thrill back in Giants unis and we’ll come out and fill the seats.
Next, they’ll hire Robby Thompson as in infields coach and Candy Maldonaldo as a bodyguard for Will Clark.
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